Mauveline! Gnarlene! I love them! Okay, not "love" as in "would give them to my own children," but I find them so interesting. Sometimes I feel like we think "creative" names are a new phenomenon, but I think people have actually been doing it for a long time. If you look at people who were born in the 1920s and '30s, for example, you find a lot of -een names for girls, because that was a popular sound--Pauline, Colleen, etc.. And then along comes someone who wants to be a little different, and she names her daughter Mauveline (kind of like Mabeline, as in "Mabeline, why can't you be true?") or Nolene or something (okay, Gnarlene seems a little more modern to me).

Which reminds me, I found a family member born in the '20s named Foneva (female). Eva + Fawn or maybe phone? Something about it just doesn't work for me...

Another one from my family tree, on the topic of unisex names: Leon. For a girl.

She was born in the early 1920s in the South and her birth name was Mary Leon Miller. Not Leona, Leon. Over the years she decided to go by her middle name, Leon, and is mentioned this way in several of her siblings' obituaries. "...survived by his sister Leon Jones [married name]."

I seem to recall a model that Rudi Gernreich used in the 1960s. She was also named Leon.

Another one from my family tree, on the topic of unisex names: Leon. For a girl.

She was born in the early 1920s in the South and her birth name was Mary Leon Miller. Not Leona, Leon. Over the years she decided to go by her middle name, Leon, and is mentioned this way in several of her siblings' obituaries. "...survived by his sister Leon Jones [married name]."

I seem to recall a model that Rudi Gernreich used in the 1960s. She was also named Leon.

About 8 years ago I had a GED registrant named Celevee. I had to call her because she hadn't filled in a form correctly so I asked her how her name was pronounced (I called her Miss Lastname when I called). Her response?

"C'es la vie. It's French."

I'm thinking, "Yeah, it's French for that's life". I then spent an entire afternoon envisioning her mother being told she was expecting and going "Well, c'est la vie. Hey, what a great name!"

Another one from my family tree, on the topic of unisex names: Leon. For a girl.

She was born in the early 1920s in the South and her birth name was Mary Leon Miller. Not Leona, Leon. Over the years she decided to go by her middle name, Leon, and is mentioned this way in several of her siblings' obituaries. "...survived by his sister Leon Jones [married name]."

I seem to recall a model that Rudi Gernreich used in the 1960s. She was also named Leon.

Leon Bing. She's an author now.

Oh, how interesting. I wonder if it was a "thing" at one point. I guess to me "Leon" just does not sound in any way like something I might want to use for a girl, but obviously tastes differ on that point! I guess there is Leonie, and also LeeAnn, which are very similar now that I think about it...

About 8 years ago I had a GED registrant named Celevee. I had to call her because she hadn't filled in a form correctly so I asked her how her name was pronounced (I called her Miss Lastname when I called). Her response?

"C'es la vie. It's French."

I'm thinking, "Yeah, it's French for that's life". I then spent an entire afternoon envisioning her mother being told she was expecting and going "Well, c'est la vie. Hey, what a great name!"

I think urban legends sometimes become true. Like someone will think "Hmmmmm. XYZ is a pretty and unique name. I'll do it!"

I agree. I know Lemonjello and Orangejello are the infamous example. But, my cousin says she had them in a class, and she's not the type to make up stories. (You can take that from me, a stranger on the Internet. ) But I could totally see someone hearing the story, thinking those are nice names, and then using them for real. You know, think of all the ways you could spell something like "luh MAHN jel oh"--it would be so much easier if you could say, "It's spelled like 'lemon jello.'" I'd pick Lemonjello over Klamidia any day.

If some poor child actually is named Klamidia, I certainly hope that she quickly learns to tell people immediately upon meeting them that her name is pronounced "Clay-muh-DEE'-ya" or something - anything!! - other than the seemingly obvious pronunciation.

If some poor child actually is named Klamidia, I certainly hope that she quickly learns to tell people immediately upon meeting them that her name is pronounced "Clay-muh-DEE'-ya" or something - anything!! - other than the seemingly obvious pronunciation.

Well, I have to confess my scepticism, but IF I was afflicted with a name like that, I'd go by Lydia. It's not really short for Klamidia, but close enough.